The Ghost in the Pipeline
by Lioness-Goddess
Summary: When Raph hears a strange voice while hiding in the sewers, Splinter is forced to recount the sad truth of the past.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Seems I just can't stay away from the computer, can I? I've had this idea for a while though. This story is a little bit darker than my usual stuff, but nothing too bad. I'd say the turtles are about ten here.

…….

Raphael sighed as he performed yet another martial arts kata. He had been doing the same routine for almost an hour.

"Raphael, you may stop now." Splinter came in, quiet as ever, but still stern. Raph gratefully dropped his stance and stood at attention. "I hope you have learned your lesson." The old master admonished. "You are too young and inexperienced to have weapons yet. If used incorrectly, even the simplest weapon can cause extreme damage. Please believe me when I tell you this. I am not keeping you from the weapons for my own enjoyment. Understand?"

"Hai, sensei." Raph said sullenly.

"Good." Splinter smiled gently at his rebellious son. "You may join your

brothers. Play quietly." Raph nodded and hurried out of the room.

"Hey Raph, how'd it go?" Leonardo asked, walking up to his brother. Raph just looked at him in disbelief. Leo crossed his arms. "Well I told you not to go near the weapons! It's Master Splinter's biggest rule, next to not leaving the lair without permission."

"Will you just shove it?" Raph asked tiredly. "Yeah, you told me. Congratulations. I still got in trouble."

"That's 'cause you didn't listen to me." Leo muttered.

"Whatever." Raph said, waving a hand carelessly.

"Hey, you guys wanna ask Master Splinter if we can play outside the lair today?" Don asked quietly, coming up to his other two brothers. Raph and Leo looked at each other. "Only if you do it." Raph said. Don looked uncertain. "C'mon Donnie….I dare ya."

Don gulped. Daring had become popular between the three boys, and Raph and Leo were always trying to out-do each other in the dare department. If a dare was refused, the person on the receiving end was labeled a coward for the next few days, or until they could come up with a better dare. Don usually tried to stay out of it, but he sometimes got caught up in it as well.

"Raph…." He tried, but Raph was having none of it. "Just ask him, Donnie!"

"Ask me what?" Splinter had appeared in the doorway to the living room and was looking down at the three turtles, his arms crossed and his face puzzled.

Raph subtly pushed Don in front. "Donnie wanted ta ask ya somethin' sensei."

Don glared at Raph, then said something barely audible, even with Splinter's sensitive hearing. "I am sorry Donatello, would you mind repeating that?"

With another death glare at his brothers, Don sighed and raised his voice. "Could…could we maybe um…play outside the lair today?"

Splinter thought about this for a moment. "I don't see why not. Just remember to stay near the lair door."

"We will, sensei," Leo assured the rat, already ushering his brothers out the door.

Once they were safely out, Splinter shook his head and collapsed into his armchair. Kids.

…

"Ninety-eight…..ninety-nine……one hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" Don shouted as loud as he could into the echoey sewers where his brothers were hiding.

Raph drew back more into the shadows as Don's search neared his hiding spot. Not wanting to be found first, Raph climbed up into the piping overhead, carefully and silently making his way through the sewers, unseen and unheard by either brother.

When Raph felt as though he could no longer climb around the piping, he stopped to take a break and figure out where he was. It was dark, and he couldn't see much. He could hear the sound of running water, but that was common in the sewers. Try as he might, Raph began to panic slightly when he couldn't figure out where he was. Suddenly a slightly high voice began to echo around him, and his skin prickled. Raph drew more into the shadows and listened to the voice.

"Suzy plays on her swingset, she doesn't like her slide. 'Cause when the sun comes out, Suzy will burn her backside!"

Raph's brow furrowed at the strange song. "Hello?" he called softly. "Is anybody there?"

Silence, except for the constant dripping of water. Raph frowned. Had the song just been in his mind? Raph had the distinct feeling of someone watching him. "Is someone there?" he tried again. Nothing. He jumped as a new song started, bouncing off the cement walls of the sewer.

"C-C-O playmate, come out and play with me…climb up my apple tree. Slide down my rainbow, into my cellar door, and we'll be playmates, forever more!"

Raph sat absolutely still, staring into the darkness. He still could see no one, although the voice sounded like it belonged to someone his age.

"Bit jumpy, aren'tcha?" A voice said right next to his ear. Raph yelped and nearly fell out of the piping he sat in. The voice giggled. "Scaredy."

"I'm not scared!" Raph told the voice indignantly, and tried to slow his heart rate. "I just uh…uh….sat on a nail!"

"Right." The voice giggled again. "Sure you did."

"Where are you?" Raph asked, craning his neck.

"Here, there, everywhere…" came the sing-song reply. "Are you lost?"

"No!" Raph said, "Of course I'm not lost. I just…uh…don't know where I am."

"Where do you live?"

Raph scoffed. "I can't tell you that! Now come on, show me where you are."

The voice sighed in annoyance. "I _can't_, stupid!"

"Why not?"

It was silent for a moment, then, "I dunno." There was a pause, and the voice asked, "Do you live in that chamber? With that big rat and the other turtles?"

Raph blinked. "How'd you know that?"

More silence. Raph jumped down from the piping and turned in circles. "Hellooo…hey! You….person! Where are you? Where did you go?"

Nothing answered him. The turtle frowned. The kid who had been talking to him couldn't have just disappeared into thin air!

Footsteps behind him distracted Raph from the amazing disappearing voice. Quickly he turned and was about to melt into the shadows when he realized it was Splinter, with Leo and Don trailing behind him.

"Raphael…" Splinter said sternly, "I have told you all that this is not a safe part of the sewers. Workers come down here very often." He glanced around as if expecting to see something. "You…should not be here. Come along, we are going home."

Raph followed slowly behind his brothers and sensei. He figured the voice was probably just some worker's kid who had found his way down there and then climbed back up the ladder when his dad called him.

He knew the possibility was absurd, but Raph clung to it, being the only rational thing he could possibly think of.

….

"A voice?" Donnie looked skeptical. Raph had told his brothers about the strange voice that he had talked to in the sewers, but now he was wishing he hadn't.

"Voices don't just…come out of thin air!" Leo insisted, "A body has to go with it."

"But…maybe I just couldn't see the person?" Raph countered, trying to make any of this make sense.

"I don't think so." Don said, "From the angle you were sitting, you should have been able to see someone."

"He probably just imagined it," Leo said, brushing it off.

Raph was sure he hadn't imagined it, but he kept his mouth shut. He decided to investigate it himself, later in the night. No point in telling his brothers – they would just tell him it was his imagination again.

Raph's thoughts continued to plague him as he went through evening practice with his brothers. What if someone had been lost down there, and they just didn't want to tell him? He could have helped. Or what if-

"Raphael." Raph looked up into the stern face of his sensei. "What did I just say?"

"Uh…" He had been so caught up in his thoughts, Raph had not been aware that Splinter was speaking. Splinter frowned. "Five flips, then join Donatello for sparring."

_Something's not right. _Raph thought as he flipped, _And I'm gonna find out what. _

…..

A/N: I know, I know, you're all wondering where Mikey is. Don't. All will be revealed in time….mwahahahaha. Except most of you probably guessed already...well whatever. Review please!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yes, it has been a while, has it not? Sorry…school just started. You know how it is. Anyway, shutting up now.

……..

Raphael waited until he was absolutely sure everyone in the entire lair was asleep. Everybody in his family was a light sleeper, with the exception of him, and he knew he had to take special care if he was going to go through with his plan.

Raph waited until about four in the morning, then quietly stepped out of his bed, quickly looking towards the other side of the room where Leo and Donnie's beds were. They slept soundly on, unaware of their brother's actions.

Tiptoeing to the door, Raph glanced back at them once more and wondered if this was a good idea. But he had made a promise to himself, and he wasn't going to back out of it now. He had to find out who, or what, that voice had been. The problem was, if he found his way back to the exact spot where he had heard the voice, how would he find his way back again?

Raph frowned. He hadn't thought of that before. Suddenly Raph remembered a fairy tale Splinter had told them years ago.

"_But Hansel threw breadcrumbs behind them, to mark the trail so that they wouldn't be lost…" _

Inspired, Raph went to the kitchen and pulled out drawers and opened cupboards until he found a packaging of bread with a few slices in it. Yanking it out, Raph stuck his hand into it and pulled out a piece of bread, feeling slightly guilty. Master Splinter went to a lot of trouble to find them what little food he could, and here Raph was just going to throw it away.

He looked thoughtfully at the piece of bread, then tore it in half, putting one of the halves back in the plastic bag. He hung onto the other piece, ready to take a page out of Hansel's book and use the crumbs to mark his trail.

As silently as he could, Raph pulled the heavy door to the lair open and slipped out into the sewers.

….

Inside his room, Splinter awoke from a nightmare. Breathing hard, he realized he was in the lair – it had only been a dream. He did a quick meditation exercise, then slowly got out of bed. He had a sudden impulse to check on his three sons.

Grabbing his walking stick more for comfort than anything else, Splinter left his room and entered his sons', reassuring himself that they were okay. He looked to Leonardo first, his bed being the closest to the door. The young mutant was fast asleep, his knees curled up to his chest, and the blankets piled in one corner of the bed. Splinter shook his head gently and pulled the covers back up to cover his son.

Next he moved to Donatello. Splinter smiled – Donatello still held a thick book in his grasp, dangling over the bedside. Splinter gently took the book away and set it on the ground. It would be there for him in the morning.

Splinter turned to Raphael's bed to check up on his last son, and realized something was wrong. Raphael wasn't there!

The old master nearly sprinted into the living room, his heart beating a mile a minute, hoping against hope that his rebellious son had merely taken a midnight trip to the bathroom. But no such luck. A cursory glance at the door spoke volumes, as it was hanging wide open. Splinter swore in Japanese, and started out into the sewers after his son.

…

Raph trudged down the sewers, not very happy. His plan hadn't worked out so well after all. He had barely gone a few yards before he was all out of bread to mark his way. Raph just hoped he could remember his way back. "Hello?" He called out softly, listening for the voice. "Are you there?"

"Hmm…maybe!" The high pitched voice giggled. "Did you come to play with me?"

"Where are you?" Raph whispered.

"Up here, silly!"

Raph looked up, hoping to see a child sitting up in the pipes. But there was nothing. "Up where?" he asked, getting frustrated now, "Show yourself!"

"I told you!" The voice sighed, "I can't!"

"Why not?" Raph demanded.

"Because…um…I just can't. It's hard. I can move stuff around sometimes, but then they go back to where they were after a while."

Raph stuck his hand up in the air. "Can you take my hand?"

"Maybe…hang on." There was a pause, and for a moment Raph thought the voice had disappeared. But then something wrapped around his hand, ice cold. Raph yelped and pulled his hand back.

"What was that for?" The voice sounded hurt now.

"You're cold!" Raph gasped.

The voice started to giggle again. "Of course I am! You would be too if you were dead!"

Raph stared. "You're a ghost?" He whispered. Then he crossed his arms. "I don't believe you."

"Yeah? Well explain this then." There was a small scraping sound, and one of the lose pipes that had gathered in the corner began to rise, and floated over to Raph. It fell right at his feet, but as soon as it hit the ground, the pipe skittered back to the corner. The voice sighed. "One day I'll learn how to make the things stay….then I'll be a really good ghost! A reeeallly scary one!" The voice paused. "It is fun to be a ghost, you know."

"Right." Raph said skeptically. "Well, what's your name?"

"Name?" The voice whispered. "I had one once…I don't know what it is. I forgot."

"How could you forget your name?"

"I don't need one."

"Oh. Well what do you do all day then?" Silence. Raph turned, thinking the ghost was going to play a trick on him. "Hello?" Nothing. The ghost was gone.

"Raphael!" Splinter's voice echoed harshly through the sewers. Raph quickly spun to face his now livid sensei. "I thought I had told you to stay away from this section of the sewers!" Splinter said, "And it is four in the morning, my son! You should be sleeping! You could have gotten lost down here, or hurt!" Splinter sighed and tried to calm himself. "Come, Raphael. We are going home. I will decide your punishment tomorrow."

Raph took Splinter's offered hand, and twisted back once more to see if the ghost had come back. There was no one there, except…

Raph took a double take. There was something brown and hairy stuffed into the corner of a pipe. Raph tugged away from Splinter, ignoring his surprised calls of "Raphael!"

Walking over to the brown thing, Raph picked it up and made a face. It was completely soaked in sewer water. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a stuffed bear. The eyes had long been lost, and half of the stuffing was missing. The nose looked like it had been bitten off. Raph turned it over, and noticed it still had a tag. With writing on it. Squinting at it, Raph read "Michelangelo." In Splinter's handwriting.

Raph stared for a minute, then grasped the bear and hurried back to his sensei, not noticing the look of worried shock on the old rat's face.

A/N: I know it's short, but the next one will be longer, because there's a flashback. This story isn't going to be very long. Five chapters maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know it's short, but this isn't supposed to be a very long story…I don't want to drag it out more than I need to.

…..

Raph sat on his bed, clutching the bear he had found in the night. His punishment was restriction to his room for the day, except for meals and practice. It didn't bother him though – he _had_ been out at four in the morning. Being restricted to his room meant that he could sleep for as long as he wanted. He turned the bear over once more to read the name written on the tag, then dropped it on the floor and scrambled under the covers, ready to forget about the strange happenings for now and catch up on his sleep.

…..

Splinter was worried. Perhaps he had made a wrong decision, not telling his sons _all_ the reasons why he did not want them playing in certain areas of the sewers without his supervision or knowledge. But he had not wanted to frighten them, just make them wary of dangerous areas. He could not lose another one…

The old rat frowned. Maybe it was time to tell them. But then there was Raphael. Splinter had a feeling that his rebellious son knew something was amiss. Splinter had wanted to take away the bear Raphael had found, but he knew that would seem especially odd. If his sons were to know the truth, he wanted them to hear it from him. Splinter walked to a small box and lifted out a very old picture. Yes. It would be prudent to tell them soon.

….

"Hey Raph?"

Raph peeked out from under his covers to see Leo's face peeking through the door. Raph groaned and replaced the blanket so his own face was hidden from his brother. "Go away Leo, I'm sleepin'."

Not one to be deterred, Leo came in all the way and climbed onto Raph's bed, pulling the covers off him. Raph sat up and glared at him. "Whaddya want?"

"Why'd you go out last night?"

"None of your business."

"Did you really hear somebody yesterday?"

"You didn't believe me yesterday. Why are you now?"

Leo raised an eyeridge. "I don't think you would wander around in the sewers by yourself at four in the morning for nothing."

Raph stared at his brother for a long time. They didn't get along very well sometimes, but Leo seemed sincere now. "Can you keep a secret?" Leo nodded.

Raph leaned over the edge of the bed and pulled the bear out from under it. He handed it to Leo, who looked at the tag. "Michelangelo?"

The brothers exchanged glances. They were both thinking the same thing. Each of them had a different stuffed animal they had had since they could remember. And each of the animals had their names written on the tags in Splinter's handwriting. Just like the bear.

"I think there's something Splinter didn't tell us." Raph admitted.

Leo didn't want to think Splinter had lied to them, but all the evidence was pointing that way. "We should figure out what it is."

Raph nodded. "Let's get Donnie."

….

"Is this where you found it?"

The three brothers were back in the sewers, standing in the same spot Raph had been in the previous night.

"Yeah," Raph said, "Right before Splinter came."

"What makes you think he'll even come back?" Leo wanted to know.

"'Cause we got this." Raph said, holding up the bear. "I know it's his. Now shut up."

The turtles waited in silence for the voice to return.

….

Splinter took a deep breath, then stepped out of his room. It was time. He would tell them. He would. He would. Maybe they weren't ready…_they ARE,_ he reasoned with himself, _It has been too long already. They are only children for a little while longer. They can handle it. _

Splinter came to his sons' room and knocked on the door. He knew they would all be in there – they had a tendency to keep each other company when one was restricted, ignoring all his protests that the one being punished should be left alone.

However when no answer came, Splinter pushed the door open, a bit worried. The sight that greeted him nearly gave him a heart attack. There were no turtles to be seen. Not even Leonardo. The only remnants left of any living creature at all were the rumpled blankets on Raphael's bed.

Splinter let loose every colorful word he knew in both English and Japanese. He knew exactly where his sons had gone. Forgetting his previous worries, he rushed out into the sewers to retrieve his errant sons.

…..

"Give it back!"

Raph jumped up, closely followed by his brothers. "It's him! It's him!"

"Yeah it's me!" The voice said exasperatedly, "Now give me back Eugene!"

Raph blinked. "_Eugene_?"

"My bear!" The voice protested.

"How do we know it's yours?" Don asked, feeling silly talking to thin air.

"I just know it's mine." The voice retorted.

"But you can't remember your name." Raph said.

"So?"

"There's a name on the tag. Michelangelo."

The voice was silent for a long time, and Raph thought he might have scared him off. Then it came back, "It sounds really familiar. But I know that bear is mine!"

"How?" Leo demanded.

"See his nose?"

The three turtles looked at the bear. The nose indeed was gone.

"I remember when I was alive I bit it off."

Raph laughed. "Yeah _right_."

"No, wait." Don interrupted, taking the bear from Raph and looking closely at where the nose should have been. "Those really are bite marks."

"Do you remember anything else about being alive?" Leo asked.

"I remember…being warm and comfortable, with…with…I can't remember, I think there were more kids in the bed with me."

"What else?" Don inquired, but nobody answered. The voice had disappeared.

Suddenly an irate Splinter came around the corner. "I cannot believe you three are out here! Especially you, Raphael! I would think you have learned your lesson! You three are in deep trouble…you will sit quietly in your room until I have calmed enough to think of a suitable punishment! Come along!"

The three chastised children followed their father, all thinking very hard. Raph held onto the bear harder.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yeah, I know what you're thinking. FINALLY! LG updated again! Yep, I am. And I truly am sorry I haven't updated this story more. It's just been raining. A lot. I know that sounds like a really stupid excuse, but I get depressed when it rains for more than three days. It's how I am. But now that I think of it….it's STILL raining, but I decided to update for you guys. Aren't I nice?

…

Splinter sat on his bed, his legs crossed, breathing deeply. It had taken him nearly an hour to calm down after discovering his sons' excursion to a certain tunnel…_that_ tunnel. But he had been on his way to explain to them the truth, when he discovered them. That didn't change the fact that he still needed to tell them, and soon, before he lost his nerve and they discovered it from some other source. He wasn't sure what this other source could be, but whatever it was, he felt the pressing need for his young sons to hear the truth from him, and him only. Splinter rubbed his temples. He needed to relax a little. The rat climbed out of his lotus position and headed to the kitchen for some tea before confronting his sons.

…

"Oh man, we are in so much trouble…oh man…ooh, Splinter's really gonna be mad…" Leo paced around the small bedroom, muttering things of this nature to himself. Raph watched him tiredly. His older brother's pacing was making him dizzy.

"Chill, Leo would ya? It's not like he's gonna throw you out or anything."

"He wouldn't do that anyway!" Donnie said from his huddled up position on his bed. "He'll probably just make us practice more."

"See?" Raph said to Leo, "That's not even punishment for you! You like doing extra practice."

"But being made to do it because of something shameful you did is different!" Leo protested. Raph rolled his eyes. Sometimes there was no getting through to his brother.

"It ain't shameful." Raph said confidently. "There's somethin' weird goin' on down here, and sensei knows we're gonna find out what it is!"

"If he wanted us to know, he would tell us, Raph." Leo countered, "He doesn't want us to know about this…this…ghost you found."

"He knows somethin' about it! I know he does! Lookit the bear!" Raph held up the brown object in question, "The tag has a name on it, right? Well, our toys do too!"

For as long as they could remember, each turtle had had their very own stuffed animal. Raph's was a tiger, Leo had a wolf, and Don had a jackelope, of all things. Each of the boys had their respective names written on the tag, in Splinter's handwriting. Just like the bear. "There's somethin' goin' down, and if sensei don't wanna tell us, I'll just hafta find out!"

Raph ran over to the closed door of their bedroom and flung it open, sticking his head out to make sure all was clear, ignoring Leo's protests. Raph grinned as he saw Splinter heading towards the kitchen. _Perfect._

Raph waited until Splinter had gone all the way into the kitchen, and then cautiously stepped out of the room and froze, expecting Splinter to dash out of the kitchen any moment and catch him. But his master stayed safely in the kitchen, and Raph successfully made it to Splinter's room without any mishaps.

Inside Splinter's room, Raph wasn't sure what to do. He had made it in, but then what? It wouldn't be like Splinter to leave things lying around to give Raph any clues about the strange ghost. He would have to do some detective work of his own.

He decided to start with Splinter's desk. There had always been a small desk by Splinter's bed with various papers on it, but Raph had never really cared what was on it – or in it. He did now. Raph glanced over his shoulder quickly to make sure Splinter wasn't returning, then looked at the top of the desk. There were a few papers on it, some writings in kanji, and papers Raph and his brothers had used to write on during their math lessons. Nothing of interest. After another glance over his shoulder, Raph carefully pulled open the drawer to the desk.

Inside, there were more of their school papers, and a few photos Splinter had managed to get of them with a camera he had found with some film left inside, miraculously undamaged by the sewer water. Raph was about to replace the drawer and give up when a crack in the side of the drawer caught his attention.

Frowning, Raphael poked it with his finger. The bottom half of the crack started to give way, and Raph snatched his hand back. The last thing he wanted was to be caught breaking sensei's stuff. Raph was about to leave empty handed when a small flash of white caused him to pause. He was pretty sure it had come from near the crack…

Raph poked the crack again, harder this time. It gave way enough so Raph could see what was inside. There was a white piece of paper…but as the young turtle pulled the slip out, he realized it wasn't just a mere piece of paper. It was a picture! Flipping it over, Raph gasped as he realized what was actually in the picture. The image was him and his brothers, as babies, and holding their respective stuffed toys. But there weren't three small turtles – there were four. And the smallest was clutching a bear. The four of them couldn't be older than two.

The young Raph frozen in the picture had his shell slightly turned to the camera, apparently trying to rip off one of the ears of his tiger. Donnie had fallen asleep on Leo's shoulder, his jackelope dangling from one hand, and Leo simply stared at the camera with a bemused expression. The fourth one though, stared at the camera with a huge grin on his face, clutching his bear to his body as if he would never let it go for anything.

As Raph stared at the picture, the fourth little turtle – moved. Raph saw the image of the grinning turtle suddenly stick his tongue out at him! Raph stared at the picture hard, but the strange turtle had gone back to his happy expression. _Gotta be a trick of the light_. Raph thought to himself.

His ears caught the sound of motion near the kitchen, and Raph knew it was time to scram, before he was caught breaking the rules for the third time in a row. Tucking the picture into his belt, Raph made a mad dash for the bedroom, making it in just seconds before Splinter emerged from the kitchen.

Leo and Don approached Raph. "Raph, what-"

Whatever Leo was going to ask, nobody ever knew, because at that moment, there was a soft knock at the door.

"My sons, may I come in please?" Splinter's voice floated in from the hallway. The brothers exchanged confused looks before Leo answered, "Hai, come in, sensei."

Splinter slipped inside the room, closing the door softly behind him. "My sons," he sighed, "I have something very important to discuss with you." He sat on Leo's bed, and motioned for his sons to sit around him. Leo sat on his left side, Don on his right. Raph opted to sit on the floor, in front of his sensei.

"My sons, I have always strived to be honest with you, but there are some things that I considered you not old enough for. Certain events however, have brought to my attention that perhaps you are old enough now, to know the whole truth about your history, and your family.

You know how you came to be, about the glowing ooze that you crawled in when you were ordinary turtles, and how I found you. What I have kept from you, was that you were not always three. When I discovered you, there were four.

I named you from an art book I found, and I did the same for your brother. His name was Michelangelo. Raphael, I believe you found his toy wedged into a pipe the other night, did you not?"

Raph nodded. "But sensei, how come he's not here with us now, if you found him with the rest of us?" Don wanted to know.

Splinter sighed. "I am coming to that, Donatello. You see, when you were toddlers, the four of you were extremely rambunctious, to say the least. I had trouble keeping an eye on all of you at once. Raphael and Michelangelo were often wandering away from the rest when I was away, despite explicit instructions.

One day there had been excessive rain, and the sewers became flooded. I instructed you four to stay safely in the lair while I checked to make sure no major damage had been done to the systems. You all knew the dangers of the outside world by then, young as you were.

I left to check the systems, but something upset Michelangelo – I do not know what – and he came after me. I was, at this time, on a rather perilous ledge, hoping to see if any of the other tunnels were damaged. Michelangelo tried to climb it as I had. Unfortunately, due to flooding, the handholds I had used were slippery. I had climbed them easily with the use of my claws, but Michelangelo did not have such luxuries. He slipped – I tried to catch him, but I was too late.

He fell into the water, and was swept away. I followed as best as I could, but there was no trace of him. I had to give up. Michelangelo had perished."

The rest of Splinter's sons were speechless. "His ghost is still here, sensei!" Raph blurted out.

Splinter looked at him. "I do not know of this spirit of which you speak, Raphael, but it is entirely possible that your brother can not 'pass on' as they say."

Raph wasn't listening. It was all starting to make sense to him now, why Master Splinter hadn't seen or heard or sensed this Michelangelo ghost, and why the picture had moved, also why the ghost disappeared so quickly when Splinter had come! The ghost had to be connected to the picture somehow. When it – _he_, Raph corrected himself, - wanted to roam, his image disappeared from the picture. He had to return to the picture when someone was looking at it. Splinter must have been carrying the picture with him when he discovered Raph in the tunnel!

Raph was about to say something, when a large crash outside the lair caught their attention.

A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger. Owch. For those of you who don't know, a jackelope is an imaginary creature. It's a jackrabbit with antlers. I have a stuffed toy of one. :)


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as the crash reached Splinter's ears, he was up in an instant. Not saying anything, he was out the door just as fast, and into the sewers to investigate. If it was a maintenance worker, he needed to make sure they didn't get anywhere near where the lair was hidden. However, if it was something else…

Splinter shook his head. It had to be a maintenance guy.

The four young turtles sat in their bedroom, silent. Finally Raph spoke. "I can't believe we had another brother…"

"I wonder what made him leave the lair?" Leo wondered sadly. "Maybe if he hadn't then-"

"We know." Don interrupted. "It bothers me we don't remember him."

"We were only two, Donnie, how could we remember?" Leo wanted to know. Don shrugged.

Raph rose from his cross-legged position on the floor. "I bet that it was his ghost that made that noise outside."

Leo frowned. "Raph, you know workers come down here all the time and drop heavy things. It's probably just one of them."

Raph shook his head. "No no no! I know it's not a worker! Didn't you guys feel it? It got colder in here, and there was the weird humming before Splinter left."

"Humming?" Don looked confused. "I didn't hear any humming."

"And I didn't feel colder." Leo added.

Raph threw his hands up in frustration. "AUUGH! Forget you guys! He's tryin' to get through to us…or at least Splinter! We gotta find out what he wants." And he was out the door as well, ignoring his brothers' protests.

Splinter moved quickly throughout the tunnel. So far he had found nothing to explain to him the large crash. Suddenly he thought he heard the same sort of splashing noise when a foot steps into a puddle. He turned, expecting to see something, but there was nothing in the gloomy darkness. He continued on.

A couple feet away behind a stone outcropping, Raph let out his breath. He hadn't been caught. At least, not yet. Stepping out from his hiding place, his foot slipped into the very same puddle that had almost got him caught. Everything after that happened in slow motion. He slipped in the puddle, the sensation of falling, striking his head on the stone….

Darkness.

A warm smell and just generally a warm feeling enveloped the young turtle as he slowly forced his eyes open. Sitting up, he realized he was lying on the floor of the main living room. _Weird place for Splinter to put me…_Raph mused. Usually when they had been hurt, they were placed on the couch or in their own bed.

Raph slowly stood up, looking around. Splinter was sitting a few feet away, kneeling on the floor. Feeling the need to apologize, Raph walked over to his master, standing behind him.

"Um…sensei, I'm…really sorry about followin' ya."

Splinter didn't respond, much to Raph's chagrin. Splinter had never blatantly ignored him before. "I said-" Raph started to repeat, but was interrupted by Splinter.

"Raphael, please do not hit your brother."

Raph was shocked. His brothers weren't even there! "Master, I didn't-" he started, only to be interrupted again, this time by a younger voice.

"No!"

Curious, Raph peeked over his Master's shoulder. He nearly keeled over at the sat of what lay before him.

In front of his master, were four small toddlers. Mutant turtle toddlers. And the one glaring defiantly up at the old rat…Raph recognized himself as a toddler. Next to him, rubbing his arm, was another turtle – the one from the picture. Michelangelo!

"I am sure Michelangelo does not appreciate being hit." Splinter said disapprovingly, confirming Raph's suspicions. "Now apologize."

Raph's young self turned to Michelangelo. "Sorry Mikey."

"What in the…" Raph didn't have time to finish his thought before Splinter rose with an exasperated sigh.

"My sons, I am sorry I have to leave you alone yet again. I promise I will not be too long. Please be kind to each other while I am gone." He looked pointedly at the toddler Raph. After making sure each turtle got a hug, the rat was gone.

As soon as Splinter was out the door, the four turtles broke apart, each doing their own thing. Don picked up an old battered picture book and began flipping through it, Leo looking over his shoulder. Mikey dragged an equally as battered coloring book and a few crayon stumps out from under the couch.

Raph watched with his mouth hanging open as 'he' went over to Mike and asked what he was drawing.

"Nothin'!" the toddler Mike said, turning away from him, blocking his view of the picture. But as Mikey turned from his younger self, he was facing Raph's older self. He could see the picture now. It was what looked like two green blobs, with orange and red near the heads.

"Aw, c'mon Mikey, I jus' wanna see whatcha drawin'!" The young Raph protested.

"Can't see till it's done, Raphie!"

"Show it!"

"NO!"

By this time, the other two brothers had noticed the commotion. "Jus' wait till he's done, Raphie." Leo said, trying to prevent any further fighting. Don watched over the tip of his book with wide eyes. Unfortunately Leo's attempts were in vain.

"I jus' wanna see!" Raph's younger self said, and bent down to grab the paper away from his little brother.

Mikey wasn't about to let it go though, and hung on for dear life. "Lemme see, Mikey!"

"NO!"

While all this was going on, Raph was getting a strange sense of déjà vu. He had been here before. This was _his_ memory! He watched as the two young turtles fought over the piece of paper, and then, inevitably –

Rrrrriiiiiiiiip.

Mikey watched the two torn pieces float gently to the ground, then looked back up at his brother with tear filled eyes. Little Raph took a step toward his brother, a guilty expression on his face. "Mikey, I didn't mean-"

"You did!" Mikey insisted. "You're such a poop!" Tears had begun to stream down his face, and the little turtle turned to face the door. "I'm tellin' Splinter!"

Raph heard himself calling his brother back…come back…come back…

"Raph! Come back!"

Raph's eyes snapped open. Don's face two inches away from his welcomed him. Pushing him away, Raph sat up. He was still in the tunnel. "What happened?"

"We chased you out here to try and convince you to come back to the lair so you wouldn't get in trouble again, and we found you like that!" Leo explained. "You must've hit your head. Raph! What's wrong?"

While Leo had been talking, Raph had been thinking about his memory. The thing that had driven his brother out of the lair…to chase after Master Splinter…the cause had been…

"It was…me."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Yes, last chapter I said four turtles instead of three. No, I didn't mean to say that. You know what I meant, right?

---

Leo and Don exchanged confused looks. "What? What was you?" Leo asked.

Raph shook his head, drawing his legs up. "You know how Master Splinter said that our other brother…_Mikey_…followed him for some reason when he died?" His brothers nodded. "It was me. I was being a jerk, and I chased him out."

"I thought his name was Michelangelo." Donnie said. Raph looked at him.

"We called him Mikey." He said firmly.

His brother shrugged. "How'd you know you did it? It could've been anything…"

"No." Raph cut him off. "It was me."

"But-"

"Don't worry about the _how's_, Donnie, I just know, and it was me!" Raph looked at the ground. "I can't believe I did it, I didn't know, I just…"

"Raph." Leo put a hand on his shoulder. "You might have made him upset, but it's not your fault he died. He slipped, remember?"

"If I hadn't been mean to him he woulda stayed…"

"You don't know that." Leo insisted. "Maybe it was just…you know…his time."

Raph sighed. His brothers wouldn't understand the wave of guilt that he was drowning in.

"Let's get outta here before Splinter comes back and we get in trouble again." Don suggested. Raph didn't say anything, but let his brothers guide him back to the lair.

"Wonder what Mikey wanted, since he made that huge noise earlier." Leo and Don exchanged glances, but said nothing. Better to not upset their brother further.

They made it back to the lair before Splinter, to their relief. The three turtles returned to their room, where they were supposed to have been the whole time.

Raph climbed onto his bed, isolating himself from his brothers. He pulled the picture he had taken from Splinter's room out of his belt and studied it. He smiled faintly at the younger image of himself trying to tear the ear off his tiger. His eyes rested on Mikey's image, and started. The image _winked_ at him! Again! He looked at it again, hoping to catch the image in the act, but it had gone back to the normal smiling turtle.

Suddenly Raph heard the creak of the lair door – Splinter was back. And…muttering to himself? Raph pulled the door to their bedroom open just a crack, peeking out. He could see Splinter. His master's robe was soaking wet, and the rat made a large puddle anywhere he stood. His fur looked as if it had been doused with glue, it was hard and sticky-looking in places. In spite of himself, Raph had to suppress a grin. His mighty master just looked so…stupid!

"Curses….darnit….darn spirits….just because you…can't imagine why….troublemaker…" Splinter was muttering, but Raph only caught small snippets of what he was saying. The old rat suddenly changed direction and began walking towards the turtles' room.

Raph had barely hopped back onto his own bed before Splinter pushed the door open a bit further, but didn't come all the way in. "My sons, I have a very persistant headache. I am going to take a nap for a bit, and then I shall answer any more questions you may have regarding…what we talked about earlier. Alright?"

All three brothers nodded, and Splinter left. As soon as Splinter was gone, Raph hopped off of his bed. "I'm going to the bathroom!" he said, annoyed, as Leo opened his mouth to ask where he was going again.

---

Finished with the bathroom, Raph put a hand on the doorknob to leave, and stopped. Something was holding him back.

"So, have ya finally caught on yet, stupid?" The voice was back. _No, not the voice. Mikey. _

Raph frowned. "I'm not stupid. And what did you do to Splinter, anyway?"

There was a giggle. "Who said it was me?"

"Right." Raph rolled his eyes. "He pushed himself in the water. You could've hurt him, you know."

"Nah." Mikey replied. "I only pushed him in the shallow part."

"Why'd you make that big noise?"

"To get Splinter away for a few minutes."

Raph raised an eyeridge. "And you wanted Splinter away…why?"

Mikey sounded annoyed now. "You _are_ stupid! He was telling you about me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, who could tell you about me better than me!"

"I thought you couldn't remember anything."

"Well…"

Raph was starting to get mad. "You lied to me? What did you need to lie to me for? You're dead!"

"Hey!" Mikey protested. "You had to find out for yourself, okay? That's just how it works!"

Raph was silent, deciding to let it go. "So? Why'd you push Splinter in the pool? And what was all sticky on his fur?"

"Well…he didn't really believe you heard me. I heard him talking to himself. I had to prove I was real somehow. The sticky stuff was glue."

"I thought when you move stuff it goes back to where it was."

"It does." Mikey said, "But I guess once glue is in fur, it stays there." Another giggle was heard. "He looks pretty funny, huh?"

Raph remembered the grin he had suppressed. "I guess." He said grudgingly.

"And anyway. I did that stuff to him because I needed to stall him. You needed to see what really happened back then, and that was the only way I could do it."

"By knocking me out and giving me a vision?" Raph was incredulous, "You're not very good at this, are you?"

"It's only my first time." Mikey said apologetically. "Don't you ever stop asking questions? I came in here to ask you a favor. Now shut up."

Raph growled, but otherwise fell silent. Mikey continued. "You know what happened. My other brothers know what happened. Now that you know, there's only one thing you need to do before I can go."

"Go where?" Raph asked.

An exasperated sigh was heard. "Pass on, silly."

"Oh!" Raph said, comprehension dawning. "Yeah…sorry."

"It's okay. Now. Here's what you need to do…"

----

"Why are we doing this again?" Leo complained, as he and his brothers walked up into a less traveled area of the sewers.

Raph rolled his eyes. "We're gonna help Mikey pass on, okay? Jeez." They came to a junction, and Raph climbed onto a pipe, pulling himself up a little way, followed by his brothers.

Pulling a shuriken stolen from the dojo out of his belt, Raph began to crudely carve the letters of Mikey's name into the wall. Oddly, neither Leo nor Don had protested the theft of the shuriken. Raph had had trouble persuading them to come, but after a certain "visit" from their lost brother, they were more willing to go.

Raph finished carving his brother's name into the brick, then looked down at Don. "Pass it up!"

Don handed Raph Eugene the bear, who had been fixed up, complete with a new nose. Raph situated the bear under the carving of Michelangelo's name. "There." He said, then silenced Don and Leo. A smile graced his face as he heard a mutter in his ear. "Hey stupid, it wasn't really your fault you know."

"What do you mean by that?" Raph whispered.

"I wasn't actually going to see Splinter…he just turned around right as I fell. I just wanted to scare ya. Even though you _were_ a mean poop, I forgive ya."

There was a small whooshing sound, and Eugene fell onto his side. Raph smiled as a whispered, "Thank you, stupid!" wrapped around him.

"Come on guys." He said, looking down on his remaining brothers. "It's over. Let's get outta here."

With that, the three turtles climbed down from the pipes and headed for home.

---

Whew. Now we just have the epilogue, and we're done. Yay!


End file.
